'And Christ comes with a January Flower." This is the last line of the poem Advent by Patrick Kavanagh. The January Flower by Orla Broderick gained its title, in part, from this poem. Kavanagh often referred to the hardships of life. In this poem he reminds us of children and of Love. He refers to the power of Nature and the cycles of life. Here is a debut novel of skilled poetic prose. Our narrator Mary has been cast as a Universal Mother with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is any mother struggling with domesticity, the current economic climate and self-worth. She seeks love unaware that love is already a constant force in her life. Through the beauty of her island home she learns to grow in Nature. She learns that no matter what we endure love will always remain. No matter how hard our winters may seem, the humble flower, the snowdrop will bloom in January. Love is always inside us. We just have to find it.